Calendar of Events

Wears Valley wants to take you back in time to the days of old-fashioned Christmas trees, horse-drawn wagon rides, hayrides, and storytelling. Lots of fun awaits you in the Valley during the holiday season. A four-week long event, "Christmas in Wears Valley" will begin with a tree lighting ceremony at 6:00 pm on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013 at 3601 Lyon Springs Rd in Sevierville, TN. The event will run through December 31st.

Special events are spread over four weekends, November 29-30, December 13-14, December 20-21, and December 27-28. The first weekend is the tree lighting ceremony on November 29. On November 30 professional storytellers will tell you stories that will make your jaws drop. Throughout the four-week event, you can enjoy a tree tour, hayrides, horse-drawn wagon rides, and shopping for a live Christmas tree – all available daily. Storytelling events will be held on Saturday afternoons. http://www.christmasinwearsvalley.com

Tom Dudzick's 5-character comedy is about a young man who brings home his Jewish atheist fiancé to meet his very Catholic parents on Christmas Eve. With the inevitable family explosion comes an out-of-left-field miracle that propels the family into a wild exploration of love, religion, personal truth and the nature of earthly reality.
Greetings! is a miraculous comedy that has become a welcome alternative to A Christmas Carol in theatres all across the country.

"Tom Dudzick's comedy is a hilarious boy-brings-fiancée-home at-Christmas story." — The New Yorker

Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 3:00 PM. Tickets are $10 plus fees for Thursday & Sunday performances and $15 plus fees for Friday & Saturday performances. If available, tickets will be sold at the door.

Theatre Knoxville Downtown has open seating. Doors open 30 minutes prior to show time. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to pick up your tickets and claim your seats. TKD reserves the right to seat walk-in patrons during the final 15 minutes prior to show time.

Tickets: 865-523-7521; www.KnoxTIX.com. Information: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

Come by and enjoy refreshments while you visit and shop. For more information, stop by the center, located at 2716 Andersonville Hwy, Norris, TN, 37828, call 865-494-9854, or visit www.appalachianarts.net.

Appalachian Arts Craft Center: 2716 Andersonville Highway, Clinton, TN. Hours: Monday-Saturday 10AM-6PM; Sunday 1-5PM. Closed Sunday and Monday in January and February. Information: 865-494-9854, www.appalachianarts.net

November 29: Market Square, Krutch Park & Krutch Park Extension at 6:00PM.
Downtown Knoxville becomes a Christmas village with caroling and marshmallow roasting! The 38 ft. tall Chirstmas tree in Krutch Park Extension will be lit and Krutch Park will sparkle with more than 100,000 lights. There will be train rides for children of all ages and a Christmas market place with vendors.
Free activities include pictures with Santa Claus, hot cocoa by the Salvation Army, face apinting , balloon animals and much more!
City of Knoxville - Special Events Office: 865-215-2024, www.cityofknoxville.org/events/

Friday, November 29, at 6:30 PM on the Market Square Stage.
This year's WDVX Holiday Ho-Ho-Hoedown will embrace the Christmas in the City's "A White Christmas in Knoxville" theme with a musical celebration. Streamliners String Band will be performing some big band swing sound. Based out of Knoxville, this band consists of the region's finest young jazz musicians and plays hard-swinging music. Also performing will be Knoxville's national champion clogging dance team from the Step Above Dance School. And WDVX's Freddy Smith and his Christmas Chicken will entertain and pose for pictures.
6:30-7:00PM: The Step Above Dance School
7:00-7:15PM: Christmas Tales by Freddy and his Christmas Chicken
7:15-9:00PM: Streamliners String Band

www.City of Knoxville.org/christmas

The Knoxville Museum of Art's landmark Clayton Building will reopen Friday, November 29, 2013 in time for the East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition. The museum’s Great Hall and North Garden will remain closed while work continues in those areas. Exterior cleaning and repairs began last January. Interior work began in the fall and included installing new floors, upgrading bathrooms, renovating the catering kitchen, painting, and installing new lighting. All of the exterior and interior renovations and improvements are getting the museum ready for the unveiling of Richard Jolley’s monumental glass and steel sculpture Cycle of Life in early May 2014. The museum will continue with free admission and invites the community to come see the beautifully renovated Clayton Building. The public can follow renovation updates on the museum’s website (www.knoxart.org) and on Facebook and Twitter.

The Knoxville Museum of Art celebrates the art and artists of East Tennessee, presents new art and new ideas, serves and educates diverse audiences, and enhances Knoxville’s quality of life. The museum is located in downtown Knoxville at 1050 World’s Fair Park and is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday 10 am–5 pm, and Sunday 1 pm-5 pm. Admission and parking are free. For more information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

November 29, 1863 may be the most pivotal date in Knoxville’s Civil War history, and to commemorate this historic day, the Knox County Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission invites the public to experience some of these historical activities with a day of exciting programs and historical commemorations.

Below is a list of details for the day:

6:00 a.m. - At dawn on November 29th, 1863, Confederate forces assaulted the Union-held Fort Loudon in Knoxville, later to be renamed Fort Sanders. On the morning of November 29th, 2013, two groups of reenactors will set out to recreate that event and to contemplate what happened 150 years ago.

Confederate reenactors will set out from Bleak House and Federal reenactors will set out from the Farragut Building in downtown Knoxville. At the exact time of the battle, they will meet at the approximate site of the northwest bastion of Fort Sanders. The event is intended to be a symbolic representation of what occurred, rather than an actual reenactment. Participation in the march is by invitation only, although the public is welcome to observe or bring candles in remembrance.

11:00 a.m. - A formal dedication of High Ground Park will take place. This is an invite only event, with the Park opening to the public at 1:00 p.m.

12:00 p.m. - In commemoration of the Battle of Fort Sanders, church bells in the downtown area will ring for one minute at noon to signify both remembrance and reconciliation. Participating churches include, but are not limited to: St. James Episcopal Church, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral, Saint John’s Lutheran, First Baptist Church, Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Tyson House UTK, and Second Presbyterian Church. In addition, Ayres Hall on the University of Tennessee Campus will also join in with the rining of their bells.

1:00 p.m. - Fort Higley will open to the public for the first time in the form of High Ground Park. Thanks to preservation work by the Aslan Foundation, the park preserves the remains of the Union fort constructed in 1863 and includes the remnants of trenches, rifle pits, and a cannon redoubt. A meandering walking path surrounded by native plants and a hardwood forest follows a stone wall that leads to fort’s remnants.

The public is invited to tour the low-impact park from 1 pm to 3 pm. Refreshments will be provided and exhibitors, including the East Tennessee Historical Society, Knoxville Civil War Roundtable, McClung Museum, Legacy Parks Foundation, South Knoxville Alliance and representatives from Historic Homes of Knoxville, will have displays set up in a tent immediately adjacent to the park until 3 p.m. Due to limited on site parking, service shuttles will be available from a designated lot along Cherokee Trail at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. The park will close at sunset, and will be open to the public daily, from dawn to dusk.

In addition to the dedication of High Ground Park, two monuments in the Historic Fort Sanders Neighborhood will be rededicated in the afternoon to honor those who fought at the Battle of Fort Sanders. Starting at 1 pm, the 79th New York Highlanders and the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable will host a wreath laying at the 79th New York monument located on the corner of Clinch Avenue and 16th Street. The monument was originally dedicated in 1918 by the 79th New York Veterans Organization.

2:00 p.m. - The Chapter 89 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy will place a wreath on the monument originally dedicated by Knoxville Chapter 89, UDC on November 29, 1914 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Sanders. The monument is located between Clinch Avenue and Highland Avenue on 17th Street. The public is invited to attend both events and honor both sides that fought at the Battle of Fort Sanders.

The Knox County Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission invites the public to attend theses events. Plans are already under way for programming in 2014, with a culmination of activities occurring in the spring of 2015 for the State of Tennessee's 2015 Civil War Sesquicentennial Signature Event.

For more information visit: knoxcivilwar.org.

Pueblo pottery of the Southwest is one of the most beautiful and enduring artistic traditions in all of Native North America. It is a tradition rich with history—not only as an expression of cultural identity, but also to serve as a reflection of the relationship between Pueblo peoples and the influences from outside their own community. Today, there are about twenty pueblos with a total population in excess of 50,000. It is a practice flexible enough to adapt as necessary over time, while still adhering to established social norms.

Pottery-making in the American Southwest is a tradition that first emerged about two thousand years ago. Historically, it was a functional art form, passed from generation to generation over the span of centuries by people living in permanent villages known as pueblos. The pottery of each pueblo was unique and distinguished by a variety of characteristics, such as the individual clay source and shape of the vessels and designs, or lack thereof, painted onto the surface. By the latter part of the nineteenth century, these traditions were well established; and as more and more people began to travel and move to the Southwest, pottery production was quickly transformed from a functional art form (used primarily within Pueblo communities) to a highly marketable cultural expression.

Curated by Bill Mercer, this exhibition consists of seventy-four Pueblo Indian pottery vessels and supporting materials, dating from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twenties centuries, illustrating the remarkable variety of pottery created during that very dynamic time of transformation. Some of the vessels in the exhibition are very conservative and adhere to the traditional style of a particular pueblo, while others incorporate innovations specifically designed for the retail market.

It is also during this time period that certain individuals, such as Nampeyo from Hopi and Maria Martinez from San Ildefonso, became recognized for the quality of their work. The exhibition includes outstanding examples of their work as well.

Through this exhibition, drawn exclusively from the rich collections of the Kansas City Museum and Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, visitors will be introduced to the various styles of Pueblo pottery, as well as an understanding of the narrative behind its continued development.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9AM-5PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

''Kidstuff,'' the free WDVX show for kids and kids at heart, goes live on stage at the Knoxville Visitor Center, 301 South Gay Street in downtown Knoxville, on 89.9 FM, 102.9 fm, 93.9 FM and WDVX.COM.

Hosted by Sean McCollough, an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee, as well as a song-writer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He and his wife, Steph Gunnoe, co-lead the band the Lonetones. On November 30th, East Tennessee's Own Daniel Kimbro will join host Sean McCollough on the Kidstuff Stage. Bring your kids, both big and small, to Kidstuff Live!

Free 2-hour visitor parking located next door to the Knoxville Visitor Center. One Vision Plaza, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. FREE. For more information: 865-544-1029; www.wdvx.com

Amos Lee's Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song Tour with special guest Mutlu is in support of his new album Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song, due out in October. It is the follow-up to 2011's Mission Bell, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Rock Albums charts.

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com.

November 30, 2013
9:00 am - 2:00 pm

(Grades K-5) Do you need time to get your holiday shopping done? Leave your kids with us while you brave the mall for those after Thanksgiving sales. Your kids will spend the day enjoying nature with hikes, crafts, and other outdoor fun. We think it’s way more fun than searching for a parking space! The fee for this program is $30 for members and $40 for non-members. Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 130 to register.

"Collage as a Strategy for..." an exhibition of work by Jean Hess.
Reception, Friday, September 20, 2013, 6:00-7:30 PM. Artist talk at 6:30 PM.

Jean Hess’s work is influenced by her studies in cultural anthropology as well as in art. She creates obscure and playful collage paintings, combining natural materials and recycled ephemera to reference dream, memory and nostalgia as well as issues of loss, particularly environmental degradation.

Solo shows include the University of Tennessee, University of North Carolina – Charlotte, Tennessee Arts Commission, University of Alabama – Huntsville, East Tennessee State University, University of North Carolina – Charlotte, Maryville College, Association for Visual Arts (Chattanooga), Callanwolde Fine Arts Center (Atlanta) and Savannah College of Art and Design. Hess’s solo show at the Huntsville Museum of Art in 2004 was accompanied by an award-winning catalogue. Her work has been included in juried or curated shows at Hunter Museum of Art (Chattanooga); Knoxville Museum of Art; William King Museum, Abingdon, VA; Huntsville Museum of Art; Evansville Museum of Art, Science and History; Carroll Reese Museum (Johnson City); Clarksville (TN) Museum and Cultural Center; McKinney Avenue Contemporary (Dallas); and University of Texas – Dallas. Hess’s mixed-media collage paintings are in numerous private and public collections, including the Huntsville Museum of Art; Evansville Museum of Arts, Science and History; University of Virginia.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: Monday-Thursday 9AM-5PM; Friday 9AM-4:30PM; Sunday 9AM-1PM. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org